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Energy-efficient monitoring system for fire extinguishers

Berg, Fredrik LU and Lifting, Ludvig LU (2023) EITM01 20222
Department of Electrical and Information Technology
Abstract
Fire extinguishers are a requirement for fire safety in every type of building today. The effectiveness of a fire extinguisher is however dependent on it not leaking and keeping the pressure. To assure that this is not the case, maintenance is recommended at regular intervals, by the owners themselves at monthly intervals, and once per year by professionals. This however leaves the fire extinguishers unmonitored for long periods of time, up to a year at worst, which could prove to be a fatal problem.

The goal of the work presented in this report is to successfully automate the regular maintenance of fire extinguishers such that only regular service is needed.

Different methods of monitoring the pressure of fire extinguishers were... (More)
Fire extinguishers are a requirement for fire safety in every type of building today. The effectiveness of a fire extinguisher is however dependent on it not leaking and keeping the pressure. To assure that this is not the case, maintenance is recommended at regular intervals, by the owners themselves at monthly intervals, and once per year by professionals. This however leaves the fire extinguishers unmonitored for long periods of time, up to a year at worst, which could prove to be a fatal problem.

The goal of the work presented in this report is to successfully automate the regular maintenance of fire extinguishers such that only regular service is needed.

Different methods of monitoring the pressure of fire extinguishers were explored, such as mounting a small camera module and using computer vision to detect
changes in the pressure gauge. The use of strain gauges to continuously weigh the fire extinguisher to detect any changes was also examined. To monitor tampering the use of an inertial measurement unit as well as other types of sensors like a reed switch were explored.

The final solution, using a small camera module combined with a low-power MCU (Micro Controller Unit) and a reed switch, was able to detect small changes in pressure accurately. It was also efficient enough to be operational for at least ten years off of a single standard AAA battery. (Less)
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author
Berg, Fredrik LU and Lifting, Ludvig LU
supervisor
organization
course
EITM01 20222
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
IoT, LoRa, Monitoring, Fire safety, Wireless, Fire extinguisher, Energy-efficient, Image processing
report number
LU/LTH-EIT 2023-908
language
English
id
9110287
date added to LUP
2023-02-09 13:28:09
date last changed
2023-02-09 13:28:09
@misc{9110287,
  abstract     = {{Fire extinguishers are a requirement for fire safety in every type of building today. The effectiveness of a fire extinguisher is however dependent on it not leaking and keeping the pressure. To assure that this is not the case, maintenance is recommended at regular intervals, by the owners themselves at monthly intervals, and once per year by professionals. This however leaves the fire extinguishers unmonitored for long periods of time, up to a year at worst, which could prove to be a fatal problem.

The goal of the work presented in this report is to successfully automate the regular maintenance of fire extinguishers such that only regular service is needed.

Different methods of monitoring the pressure of fire extinguishers were explored, such as mounting a small camera module and using computer vision to detect
changes in the pressure gauge. The use of strain gauges to continuously weigh the fire extinguisher to detect any changes was also examined. To monitor tampering the use of an inertial measurement unit as well as other types of sensors like a reed switch were explored.

The final solution, using a small camera module combined with a low-power MCU (Micro Controller Unit) and a reed switch, was able to detect small changes in pressure accurately. It was also efficient enough to be operational for at least ten years off of a single standard AAA battery.}},
  author       = {{Berg, Fredrik and Lifting, Ludvig}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Energy-efficient monitoring system for fire extinguishers}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}